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Monday, June 1, 2009

Off to the Islands...

For Kevin's 28th birthday this year, I planned a weekend trip for us to go to Geoje and Oedo Islands, off the coast of South Korea! We even brought Jinho (our scooter) along with us to help us see the Island! This is us, waiting for the Ferry to come.

Kev, riding Jinho onto the Ferry! We got to be the first one's on!

When we arrived at Geoje, we rode for about an hour and a half along the coast until we arrived in the area of our Pension (hotel/house). We had the hardest time finding it, because it was up on a big hill, and we didn't have the address. We stopped on the side of the road to ask directions, and these 3 puppies all surrounded Kev! It was so adorable!

We saw this Pension (hotel/house) and I had to take a picture. Look at the ladder to the 2nd floor room. I wonder if people get a discount for staying in that room?! Can you imagine someone coming with a big suitcase and trying to lug it up there? haha!

We finally did find our Pension (hotel/house) and were thrilled with it! Here's us, with Jinho at the base of the steps up to the house.

This Pension (hotel/house) must have known I was coming, because this adorable puppy was in the garden, ready to greet me!

This was the view of the garden from our porch.

This is the view from our bedroom!

After settling in, we jumped on "Jinho" and headed south to a pebbly beach, about 15 minutes from our pension. This statue was there to greet us!

Kev skipped rocks on the water for a while, while I sifted through the beautiful stones beneath me.

I loved this green fishing boat, docked just feet from the shore.

This little kiddo was skipping rocks too!

We had a contest to find the most beautiful rock. I told Kevin, "Pretend that instead of giving diamonds as engagement rings, we gave stones. Pick out the most beautiful stone you can find, and I'll pick one too." This is the one he chose for me! It was stunning, considering it was the ONLY green stone, and he dug deep down to find it!

We jumped back on the scooter, and rode further south along the coast to this beach.

The view down to the beach.

We climbed on these huge rocks to a secluded area to sit and enjoy the scenery.

While we were on the rocks, we spotted these 2 goats, wandering along the rocks! I was so excited, I told Kev I had to go see them.

I walked, very quietly towards this one, knelt down, picked some weeds from between the rocks, and spoke softly to him... Sure enough, he came right over and ate out of my hands! Such a great moment.

Once again, we jumped back on the scooter and headed towards the end of one of the peninsulas of the island. We parked Jinho and walked around, through the charming town and found this stunning view.

On our way to dinner, we spotted this field of wild yellow flowers on the side of the road and had to stop! Walking through it was like a dream...

I love this picture!

Walking along the road, back to Jinho.

How could I pass up taking a picture like this... Kevie and his helmet! Nerdy, but safe!

We stopped here, at this charming snack bar, twice during our weekend. The owners were sweet, the drinks and food were cheap, and the view of the mountain and ocean was beautiful!

We decided to stop for breakfast on Sunday morning to get some coffee and hard boiled eggs. We were pleasantly surprised when a quiet man came up behind us and paid for our breakfast. He motioned for us to sit down at one of the picnic tables while he walked to his car to find some croissants and baby tomatoes to share with us. Like we keep saying, Koreans are soooo stinking nice! ... and this time, we knew it wasn't because he wanted to practice his English, because he didn't speak a lick of it. We think he just wanted the company for breakfast. :)

This is the owner of the snack bar. I loved his style and his long beard!

As you know, we rode along the coast, almost the whole trip. Here is a glimpse of the scenery we were able to enjoy... and Kevin loved riding Jinho on all the windy / hilly roads!

We stopped at The Windy Hill, which was not windy at all! :)

We walked along the path down to the clear blue water...

Next on the agenda, was a trip over to a tiny Island called Oedo, the 1st Island in Korea to be owned and developed by an individual.

While we were waiting for the boat to come, a group of 40 somethings were pulling sea creatures out of shells and eating them. I was watching, intrigued, of course; So one of the men handed us 6 shells and 2 toothpicks to try them ourselves. I won't take credit for eating them, because I was not that brave. Kev on the other hand was a trooper! He scooped the thing out of the shell like a pro...

... and ate it like it was a cheeseburger from In N Out!!

Here's our boat to Oedo Island!

The boat driver took us on a scenic journey to the Island past these smaller islands... It was stunning!

Off to Oedo Island we go!!

When we arrived, there was a path to walk on, so we followed the arrows and enjoyed the walk and scenery...

"Hey lady... what's you name?"

"Hey Davey... Whatcha doing here? Don't you live in Florence?"

There were tons of Japanese trees on this Island. As the story goes, the late Lee Changho, the man who owned the Island, used to travel a lot and every trip he took, he would bring plants back to plant on his Island...

The Island's garden is covered in over a thousand subtropical plants!

Walking in the garden... like a dream!

Everywhere you look in Geojedo and Oedo Island, you can see other Islands. The coast of South Korea is spotted with lush Islands.

After our trip to Oedo, we were both ready for a nice beach to lay out on, so we stopped at this one in Geoje...

The sand was nice and soft and the sun was in full effect!

Jinho waited patiently for us, while we relaxed on the beach. He's a great little scooter!

Before we knew it, it was time to hop back on the ferry home to the mainland. While Kevin rode Jinho onto the ferry, I played on the dock and found all these starfish! It was a perfect ending to a wonderful birthday weekend for my sweetheart!